Monday's trip to the White House won't be the first for Astros manager Dusty Baker, which should come as zero surprise for the most interesting man in baseball. From Dennis Hopper to Jimi Hendrix to John F. Kennedy Jr., Baker has crossed paths with many musicians, actors, politicians -- and yes, even U.S. Presidents -- in his life. Baker was invited to the White House in December 2016 by former President Barack Obama while the Winter Meetings were being held in Washington, D.C. -- in the final few weeks of Obama's presidency. "I got a call on my cell phone and it was somebody from the President's office, and I thought it was a buddy of mine pulling jokes on me," Baker said. "I said, 'How did you get my number?' So [Obama] called me back. I thought I recognized his voice." The pair had met several years earlier while Baker was managing the Cubs and Obama was a senator from Illinois. Baker invited Obama to the house he was staying at in Spring Training for a barbecue, along with former Major League player Gary Matthews, a friend of Baker's. Michelle Obama and Matthews' wife were also friends. Baker said he served the Obamas mac and cheese, collard greens, cornbread, ribs and hot links. "I helped him campaign a couple of times," Baker said. "I try to stay out of politics." |
The Astros, who are off on Monday before opening a series in Baltimore, will send a contingent of about 110 people to the White House, including owner Jim Crane, team executives, players, coaches and other ancillary officials, to meet with President Joe Biden in the East Room at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT. Of those, 36 are players and coaches who were on last year's team, including retired catcher Jason Castro. The Astros extended invitations to players who are currently on the team but weren't on the team last year, but they declined. "I can't wait," outfielder Chas McCormick said. "I've never been there, obviously, and it's going to be cool to meet the President and cool to see the White House. I'm looking forward to seeing what we do. It's going to be cool to see everyone and get to enjoy being World Series champions." The trip to the White House will also be the second for Justin Verlander, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, who visited for the first time in March 2018 after the Astros won the '17 World Series. Verlander was a late addition to this year's list of attendees after the Astros re-acquired him in a trade with the Mets on Tuesday. "It's one of those cool moments that we don't get to have that often," Verlander said. "You celebrate a world championship and this is part of it, an extenuation of it. It's a perk for sure, an added bonus that we didn't know that was happening [prior to Tuesday]." In fact, the trip was so unexpected for Verlander that he had to scramble to get a suit. "It's gold," Verlander said. "I think that's appropriate for winning a championship." |
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The Astros' Nike RBI program won the senior baseball division championship of the 2023 Nike RBI World Series, beating the Braves' Nike RBI program, 5-4, in extra innings at Holman Stadium at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Fla. The victory earned Houston its second overall baseball championship, which also came in the senior division (2010). Houston shortstop Vernon Clay was named the MLB Develops Chevy MVP of the Senior Division Championship Game after driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Clay finished the game with a team-high three hits and two RBIs. A Georgetown University commit, Clay also participated in the 2022 Hank Aaron Invitational. |
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"No, this kid is from Detroit. I don't know no punks out of Detroit. I ain't lying." -- Baker when asked if he talked to rookie pitcher Hunter Brown about making his first start at Yankee Stadium on Friday |
• The Astros reinstated infielder Will Wagner from Double-A Corpus Christi's injured list on Friday. He underwent surgery on June 2 to remove the hook of the hamate bone in his right hand. Wagner, ranked as the Astros' No. 9 prospect by MLB Pipeline, appeared in 20 games for the Hooks, slashing .270/.353/.432 with six doubles, two homers and 11 RBIs. He played five rehab games at the Florida Complex League. • Right-hander Misael Tamarez, the Astros' No. 8 prospect, threw four pitches harder than 99.5 mph on Sunday for Triple-A Sugar Land in Las Vegas, hurling pitches of 99.6 mph (twice), 99.7 mph and 99.9 mph during his 1 1/3 innings of relief. Those are four of the five fastest pitches thrown by Space Cowboys pitchers this year; the only faster pitch was a 100 mph fastball from Forrest Whitley on April 25. • Outfielder Pedro León, Houston's No. 3 prospect, launched a two-run homer in the third inning Saturday for Sugar Land that was measured at 477 feet, according to Statcast. It was the fifth-farthest-hit home run in all of Triple-A in 2023 and the 10th longest home run between Triple-A and Major League Baseball this season. The previous longest home run of the season for Sugar Land belonged to JJ Matijevic, who hit a 470-foot shot against Albuquerque on May 4. • Right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, team's No. 6 prospect, picked up his first career Triple-A win on Thursday against Tacoma by allowing one run, four hits and one walk while striking out five batters in five innings. His 112 strikeouts are the second-most in the Houston system. • Shortstop Brice Matthews, the team's first-round pick in this year's MLB Draft, hit a walk-off single in Single-A Fayetteville's 3-2 win over Carolina on Thursday. Through his first five games with the Woodpeckers, he's 4-for-17 with three RBIs, four steals and six walks. |
THIS WEEK IN ASTROS HISTORY |
Aug. 7, 1998: A week after the Astros landed Randy Johnson in a blockbuster trade with the Mariners, the Big Unit made his Astrodome debut before a sellout crowd of 52,071. He threw a five-hit shutout, striking out eight batters, in a 9-0 win over the Phillies. Jeff Bagwell hit a couple of homers in the game. It was the first of four consecutive shutouts Johnson pitched at the Astrodome. Johnson was nothing short of magnificent for the Astros. He made 11 starts in the final two months and went 10-1 with a 1.28 ERA. The Astrodome was filled every time he started. "I was going from the Kingdome, which was a band box, and now I was pitching in the Houston Astrodome," Johnson said. "I was also going and playing for a first-place team. Billy Wagner was my closer. So everything just kind of fell into place, and it was my best two months of my career." |
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